Manchester Evening News photographer Mark Waugh was among the big winners at last night’s Picture Editors’ Awards.

The lensman was named Fujifilm Regional Newspapers Photographer of the Year, beating fellow nominees Simon Dack, from The Argus in Brighton, Mark Gibson from the Evening Times in Glasgow and the Yorkshire Post’s Simon Hulme, who all received Special Awards.

Irish freelance Eamon Ward took the Fujifilm Local Newspapers Photographer of the Year award for his work for the Clare People, while The Sunday Herald picked up the Getty Images Newspaper of the Year title, jointly topping the category with The Guardian.

The Sunday Herald Magazine was awarded Getty Images Newspaper Magazine of the Year, and the Newbury Weekly News was also a winner, sharing the Newspaper Website of the Year title with The Sun.

Winners were announced at a ceremony at the Great Hall of Guildhall, with awards presented by veteran war photographer and two times Pulitzer Prize Winner Horst Faas.

Other winners included Cathal McNaughton of the Press Association, who was named Fujifilm Photographer of the Year and also won the Olympus Royal Photographer of the Year and Olympus Nature and Environment Photographer of the Year titles.

His PA colleague Rebecca Naden won the Action Images Sports Picture of the Year Award, and PA’s Martin Rickett was named Action Images UK & Ireland News Photographer of the Year.

A full list of winners and their photographs can be found at www.pictureawards.net

The competition attracted more than 8,500 entries from photographers across the UK and Ireland.